Driving melbourne to cairns

[Reaper]

its gunna take 3 lonnnnnnnnnnnng days to get to Cairns from Melbourne

its 2 long days to get to Brisbane from Melbourne (if you wanna keep yr licence)
and Cairns is nearly as far again

Yeah - very long drive but 3 days is pretty cruisy. Should take 30ish hours with 2 drivers. 1/2 hr Stop for fuel/food/walk around every 7 hours and you are set

As for prep - on an otherwise well maintained car, I'd check the fluid levels & tires before leaving. Beyond that, meh - it's only 3k km.

Reaper

 

[Drawnnite]

just wondering as i am on my p2 licence now what are the nsw rules on the freeways are we restricted to 90km/h even though my licence is victorian?

whatever the conditions of your licence say you stick to.
ie Vic licence, says no speed restrictions, just limit of the road, thats what you can do.
unless your a Learner, in which case, all Learners have to abide by NSW Learner Rules (which you're not)

ive asked the NSW Police and NSW RTA about this (being in Vic myself) and both responses are as ive just stated above.
even have it in writing, so if i ever get pulled up, it gets handed to them

just a quote from said thing in writing. says ACT, but related to Vic and every other state.

The position with visiting provisional drivers from the ACT is different. As the relevant NSW road transport law is specific to NSW provisional licence holders with respect to the special speed limits that apply (i.e. 90 km/h for P1's and 100 km/h for P2's), an ACT provisional licence holder may also drive at the sign-posted speed limit when driving on NSW roads.

However, the position with visiting provisional drivers from other Australian States or Territories may differ depending on any licence conditions or restrictions that apply to the driver in their home state or territory. In this regard, it is in the driver's best interests to comply with any condition or restriction applicable to their interstate licence when driving in NSW to avoid any dispute with police officers or insurance providers should they be involved in an accident.

 

[Andy1171]

Thanks for all the info i plan to drive up mid april spent today planning the route but basically going to go Melbourne to Bourke NSW first day Bourke to Emerald second day and Emerald to Cairns. Going to refuel at each half way point approx every 450k's which should be fine hwy k's my commodore should get close to 700 a tank. Will try to stop every 4-5 hours grab something to eat have a walk around. Looking forward to it : Car will get a full service in the next few weeks its due anyway so perfect timing.

 

[Brenno]

One thing.. Not sure if its been mentioned..


Servos aren't too badly spaced so you'll easily find fuel in the mileage range you've got on this route..

But you'll be arse raped if you use premium fuel..

Last time I fuelled up out past Mitchell and I used premium 98, I paid nearly $2 a litre..

 

[Andy1171]

i normally just use regular unleaded but end of the day its much much cheaper to drive it up than put it on a truck

 

[KustomKulture62]

Straight up the coast is best and a full service is recommended.

 

[gossie]

Straight up the coast is best and a full service is recommended.

Personally from Melbourne to Qld. I'd be using the Newel Hwy. It's a good road with 110K limit. I'm a fairly regular user of it and always take the short cut through Mendooran just north of Dubbo that takes you through to Coonabarabran.
Once you hit Qld. head toward the Bruce Hwy. and expect a slow run. It's a been a poor road in poor condition for a long long time and there will be plenty of road work holdups.

Good luck with your trip. Doubt you will have any trouble in a good car, as many people do that run often without any hassle.

 

[Andy1171]

Personally from Melbourne to Qld. I'd be using the Newel Hwy. It's a good road with 110K limit. I'm a fairly regular user of it and always take the short cut through Mendooran just north of Dubbo that takes you through to Coonabarabran.
Once you hit Qld. head toward the Bruce Hwy. and expect a slow run. It's a been a poor road in poor condition for a long long time and there will be plenty of road work holdups.

Good luck with your trip. Doubt you will have any trouble in a good car, as many people do that run often without any hassle.

appreciate that mate will take it into account what are roadside speed cameras like around there

 

[Reaper]

Personally from Melbourne to Qld. I'd be using the Newel Hwy. It's a good road with 110K limit. I'm a fairly regular user of it and always take the short cut through Mendooran just north of Dubbo that takes you through to Coonabarabran.
Once you hit Qld. head toward the Bruce Hwy. and expect a slow run. It's a been a poor road in poor condition for a long long time and there will be plenty of road work holdups.

Good luck with your trip. Doubt you will have any trouble in a good car, as many people do that run often without any hassle.

I'd agree with that entirely. I've done many trips to/from Qld and it is the best way by far. Every time I've deviated I've regretted it each time. I'd try to time going thru Brisbane/sunshine coast over night to miss the traffic.

Reaper

 

[Andy1171]

going to be going inland traffic shouldnt be bad? plan on doing roughly 2 12 hour days and last day 10 but i should be able to get out of vic fairly quickly as i know the roads cameras etc that will take a chunk out of my time